This application is for continued funding for our Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA), which has established a unique center of excellence for the enhancement of basic and clinical research training in pediatrics with foci on molecular and cellular biology and clinical sciences. The center enhances the academic career development of junior pediatric faculty, providing mentorship and Core facilities designed to enhance the training of pediatricians as required for an academic career. The Center is integrated into established programs for research training: the Procter Scholar program and extensive NIH funded research programs. The program identifies and recruits promising junior pediatric faculty who complete a 2-3 year program for research enhancement within a CHRCDA program comprised of senior scientist mentors who share a central focus in molecular-cellular biology, molecular medicine or clinical sciences. Career development includes: 1) individual mentorship by Center staff investigators; 2) formal and informal training in molecular genetics and developmental biology, clinical research and epidemiology and an NIH-funded Clinical Research Center (CRC), and epidemiology and statistics; 3) Core research elements which will prioritize training in molecular biology, immunology, protein purification and transgenic models; and 4) Core research support for epidemiology and clinical research skills. The present application has drawn together established investigators with excellence in developmental science at the Children's Hospital and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. To meet our training goals, a four-part center is proposed: 1) Center Staff Investigators who share interest and expertise in the application of molecular and cellular biology and informatics technology in the study of mammalian development, molecular medicine, and clinical research serve as primary mentors for the Pediatrician-Scholars; 2) The Administrative Core identifies recruits, and monitors the overall training of the Pediatrician-Scholars. The Core provides support for national recruitment efforts at local and national levels and prioritizes minority recruitment; 3) Research Cores facilitate the application of molecular and cellular biology and clinical research/epidemiology and statistics to the research programs of Pediatrician-Scholars. Research Core elements include Molecular Biology Cores, informatics support, clinical research study design support and Transgenic Mouse Cores. Other Cores available include Hybridoma, Protein Analysis, Molecular Morphology, Gene Array Informatics, and Study Design, which will provide both training and technical assistance. 4) Research support grants provide the Pediatrician-Scholar research funds and mentorship for a period of up to three years. This combined program of individual mentorship and advanced training in contemporary molecular, cellular, developmental biology and clinical sciences enhances the training and research productivity of our Pediatrician-Scholars as they begin highly productive academic careers in pediatric science.